Chapter 13: Two Sides

Shopkeeper Cai had drunk a little too much. The two of them helped carry the meat and noodles and saw him home. He lived in Liye Fang in the eastern part of the city, just nearby — he walked to work, very low-carbon. Shopkeeper Cai had one wife and one concubine. The principal wife was nearly forty, the concubine around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. His eldest son had already set up his own household and opened a shoe shop in the southern part of the city. His youngest son was only sixteen and helped out at the Japanese dried seafood shop.

A small household like theirs had no strict rule about not meeting outsiders. Seeing that the man was drunk, the concubine hurriedly helped him inside. The principal wife had originally worn a stern, lawsuit-like expression, but upon seeing the gifts, she immediately broke into a face full of smiles and wrinkles. Chen Xin called her "Madam Teacher" a few times, which delighted her immensely. Then Madam Teacher strongly urged the two of them to come in for tea, but they politely declined, citing the approaching curfew.

The two of them hurried back to the inn before the evening drum. Hai Gouzi and the others had already finished dinner. In the evening, they studied writing according to the curriculum Liu Minyou had set — still the simplest characters like one, two, three, and so on.

Ever since Liu Minyou had learned about housing prices and realized he was already carrying a house on his back, he had been in a state of constant excitement. Chen Xin had wanted to rest, but Liu Minyou forced him to keep practicing the abacus. They practiced until nearly the end of the second watch, but still made little progress.

Frustrated, Chen Xin pushed the abacus aside and cursed, "No more practice. Forget stockings — bringing a calculator would've been the real thing."

Seeing that he had stopped practicing, Liu Minyou came over to chat and said, "Say, in a few days I might go find a bookkeeper position too. Over twenty taels a year — that counts as a white-collar job. With housing prices this cheap, an ordinary person's two or three years' income could buy a three-bedroom, one-living-room place. Let's buy a house in Tianjin first, be neighbors, each with our own little courtyard."

"Why are you in such a rush to buy a house? Is Yin Wanqiu chasing after you?"

"If she could chase after me, of course... Why bring that up? You know perfectly well it's hopeless."

Chen Xin's interest was piqued, and he teased, "You're still thinking about that shrew? Look at Shopkeeper Cai's setup — two wives, and when he comes home drunk he doesn't dare let out a fart, only dares to give us a bit of attitude. That's the kind to find. Aren't you practicing calligraphy? Come on, write a divorce letter right now and get rid of Yin Wanqiu."

Liu Minyou was actually stronger than Chen Xin in this regard and said with righteous confidence, "Write what divorce letter? Yin Wanqiu and I had a free love marriage, not like your political marriage. You must have no status at home, right? Do you wash her feet?"

Chen Xin chuckled and said, "Wash her feet? She should be so lucky. Toss her in the washing machine to wash. Even if I have no status, think about it — if you have status at the company, at worst you just come home a bit late, go straight to bed. By my calculation, the time with status still outweighs the rest."

"Then what meaning is there in that kind of life?" Liu Minyou said as he comfortably lay back on his pillow, his face full of longing. "I've been thinking, since we can't go back anyway, I'll just find a good job here, find a wife, and have just one child. But it has to be a boy — my mother is quite traditional about valuing sons over daughters..."

"Enough. Your mother won't be born for several hundred years. We don't even know where the nth-great-grandfather of ours is."

Liu Minyou was stunned into silence.

The next day passed quickly in hurried study. Early in the morning of the third day, Chen Xin dressed neatly, ate breakfast, and strode out with his head held high. The streets were sparsely populated. The gentle morning sunlight spilled softly over him, warm and invigorating. Liu Minyou, with the four followers, escorted Chen Xin to the outside of the Confucian Temple. When they parted, everyone shouted together three times, "Brother Chen, jiayou, jiayou, jiayou!"

Chen Xin burst out laughing, knowing Liu Minyou had taught them to practice this. He struck a pose and made a bow with clasped hands. "Oil prices are soaring — everyone has been most generous. This humble student thanks all you great heroes for your lofty righteousness. This parting puts mountains high and waters long between us — we shall meet again this afternoon."

Having spent some time together, everyone knew he never spoke seriously, and they all chuckled. Hai Gouzi grinned foolishly and shouted, "Brother Chen, when I grow up I'll be a bookkeeper too, and when you're old I'll take care of you." Wang Daixi jumped up, tugging at Chen Xin's hand, and chimed in, "Me too!"

Among the four followers, Hai Gouzi was closest to him. Chen Xin brought him along every time he did "Hope Project" work — he could be considered a fan of Chen Xin's. Chen Xin patted their heads approvingly, said nothing, and turned to walk toward the Japanese dried seafood shop.

Chen Xin, who had calmly presided over countless meetings, actually felt a trace of nervousness as he stood at the doorway. He couldn't quite say why, so he just shook his head to dispel that feeling, focused his mind, thought over what he had learned these past few days, and walked in.

Inside the shop, a burly, towering man stood with his back to the door. Shopkeeper Cai was speaking to him respectfully. "In all these many days, only one person has come to apply, and as it happens, this person is most reliable — clever too. Though his abacus skills are not yet fluent, it is no great obstacle..." He caught a glimpse of Chen Xin at the doorway and hurriedly said to the man, "Proprietor, speaking of whom, here he comes."

Seeing this, Chen Xin hastily cupped his fists and bowed. "This humble student pays respects to..."

A rough, booming voice thundered out, "Cut the crap! What's your name!"

Chen Xin was slightly startled. He looked up just as the man turned his head around — a leopard's head and round eyes, a large, coarse mouth and nose, beard and hair all bristling, three scars crisscrossing his face, a tangled mess of weeds-like whiskers covering his cheeks. Yet he wore a fine silk blue scholar's robe, the muscles of his body straining the fabric tight. No matter how you looked at it, he could not be associated with the term "blue-robed scholar."

"Didn't you hear me? What's your name!"

"Uh, this, my name is Chen Xin."

"A Japanese sword bought for seven taels and two mace — how do you account for it?"

"In the silver ledger, record: out, seven taels two mace. In the goods ledger, record: in, one Japanese sword."

"Today I sold this Japanese sword for fourteen taels and nine mace — how do you account for it?"

"In the silver ledger, record: in, fourteen taels nine mace. In the goods ledger, record: out, one Japanese sword."

"Yesterday that son of a turtle borrowed one mace of silver from me. Today I held a blade to his neck and he paid it back — how do you account for it?"

"Out, one mace. In, one mace."

"How much money did I earn in total today?"

"Seven taels and seven mace."

"What about that one mace from the son of a turtle?"

"That was originally money the Proprietor lent out — it cannot be counted as earned. However, since the Proprietor held a blade to that son of a turtle's neck, presumably you should have demanded an extra mace in interest from him. That way, there would have been a profit."

"Good, good. That remark shows insight. You're hired. I don't care whether your abacus is fluent or not, as long as you get the calculations right."

"Thank you, Proprietor."

The Proprietor laughed heartily, the scars all over his face twisting into chaotic patterns. He waved a hand and said, "I am the Proprietor. My surname is not Xie, it's Zhao — Zhao as in Marshal Zhao Gongming. Such a simple matter, yet it dragged on for over ten days without being settled. Now that you're working here as my bookkeeper, you must mind your duties, and no long-winded nonsense. That's all. Your wages start counting today. When can you start?"

"I need two days to settle my lodgings. The Proprietor may deduct these two days' wages..."

"Come the morning two days from now." Proprietor Zhao turned and left as soon as he finished speaking.

The entire interview had taken less than two minutes. Before Chen Xin could react, the Proprietor had already strode into the rear hall. Lao Cai seemed to let out a huge breath of relief. He pulled Chen Xin aside and said in a low voice, "It's finally settled. You've seen the Proprietor's temper now, but don't worry too much — just be careful in your work from now on."

Chen Xin thanked him. Lao Cai smiled again and said, "No need for so much courtesy. It's also your own capability. Even my wife said you are surely a reliable young man. And we must thank you for helping me home the night before last."

"Helping you home, sir, was only right. Madam Teacher is virtuous and manages the household well — a perfect match with you, made by heaven."

"Heh heh, you young man, you certainly have a way with words. Your Madam Teacher is indeed a virtuous and gentle person. That concubine of mine, however, is not so agreeable. Just yesterday she was telling me she wanted to buy some mercury face powder and some red jade ointment. A small household like ours — where would we find spare money for such useless things?"

Hearing this, Chen Xin immediately understood that Lao Cai was impatient to collect the one month's wages he had promised — though naturally he could not give it all at once. He promptly took out one tael of silver and quietly slipped it into Lao Cai's hand. "Sir, your words are reasonable. But as the saying goes, a woman adorns herself for the one who delights in her. The young Madam Teacher's intentions are also heartfelt — to make you, sir, feel happy when you look upon her, and thus keep your body healthy. That would be a blessing for us juniors. I, as a junior, ought to bear this responsibility entirely, but alas, my purse is embarrassingly thin. I hope you, sir, will not disdain this small token of my regard. At the New Year's festival, there will certainly be more to show my gratitude."

Lao Cai took it, his face beaming with delight. He made a show of reproaching Chen Xin a few times, telling him not to do such things in the future. The peculiar two-sided interview ended hastily. Chen Xin had officially become a salaried worker of the Great Ming Dynasty.